The Butler weekly times., 1887-12-28
A FREAK OF NATURE.
The Strange Liquid rerpetualy Oo1tng
from the ..rountAin of Hood"

The Strange Liquid rerpetuafiy Oo1tng
from the ..rountAin Of Blood"
Near the town of Virtud. in Hon
duras, South America there exists
wha, is known as the Fountain Of
Blood" 1t received this name on ac-
count of the curious red liquid which
is perpe,ually oozins and dropping
from the roof of = cavern. and which.
on falling. coagulates and exactly re-
sembles human blood. Like blood.
also. it speedily corrupss and emits an
odor of animal decay. Insects deposit
their larve in it. and dogs and carrion
birds flock to feast upon it. We are
informed bY one who has witnessed it
that the grotto is the nightly haunt OF
multitudes of large bats. which. like
the dogs and birds. feast upon this
strange liquid. which has not only tho
smell but the taste of blood. A fear.
full odor is perceptible at consider
able distance from the cavern. and
when it is reached masses of the
blood may be seen IN
state of jellitied coagulation.
Numerous attempts have been made to
obtain portion of this blood-like
liquid for analytical purposes. but in
every case without success. in conse-
quence of rapid decomposition. which
causes the bottles to burst. The late
Don Rafael Osejo undertook to trans
NIT some bottles of it TO London. but
his intention was frustrated by the
bursting Of the bottles, and tina in less
than twenty-four hours after sealing
them. Mr.. f. G. Squicr did once suo-
ceeded in taking back with him to
New York two bottles of the liquid.
largely diluted with water. but it be-
came very offensive. and no satis-
factory explanation of the phenom-
enon could be obtained. We give the
neutrality-suspicious. the most salts
factory ry-explanation that has been re-
ceived. It was written by one who
undertook the journey in order to
satisfy his curiosity: The principal
cave" he says. sis fissure about fif-
teen or twenty feet high. and five or six
wide at the entrance. but it rapidly mar
rows. SO that a man can only follow it
for thirty or forty feet. 1t abounds
with huge bats. which cling In masses
to the narrower part of the fissure.
The stencil is strongly ammoniacal.
and so intense that l was obliged to
retire thrice before 1 could procure
from the innermost part that 1 could
reach sufficient quantity of the
material to fill the bottles of alcohol
which had carried with me for the
purpose. In the rainy season small
current of red matter, like blood.
flows from the cave into the stream;
but in the dry season the water ceases
to percolate through the roof and back
of the cave. and the flow ceases. At
my visit it had already stopped. but
| the floor OF the cave was covered
several inches deep with jelly-like
| or pasty mass, which gave blood-red
color when mixed with water. On the
sides of the cave were clotted masses.
looking like dried blood. which had
run down from above; and in the mar
| rowest parts that could reach in the
recess of the fissures / collected with
nv knife some fresh semi- fluid
matter which the insects had no,
attacked. Examined with a micro
scope on the spot it exhibited
no living particles. nor in fact.
any thing but minute fragments
of the digested debris Of insects. From
the tint of the red color was at frs,
inclined to believe that it might result
from the generation of sulphocyanide
Of ammonium during the putrefactiou
of the animal cxcretions. and the reac
ton of that substance with a trace oi
iron in the water percolating through
the sandstone. But Mr. W. 7. Taylor
to whom submitted some OF the soliG
matter collected. as also the semi fluid
preserved in alcohol. writes me that
he can not detect any iron in the red
solution. and that it appears te be en-
tirely an organic coloring matter. Th'
insoluble substance has been found bi
DR.. Leidy to consist chiefly of chitine
undigested fragments of insects
mingled with bats hair and homogene
| Gus granular matter" In country
like South America. where scientiii
knowledge can hardly be said to exist
| freak of nature OF this cxtraordinar,
description could not fail TO becom
an object of great and superstition
wonder. and many weird and mar
velous stories are current concernin.
the Fountain of Blood. - CasseU
!Saturdnt .5ourndi
| Reat~ira and Ha- Efotbar